Folding rack



y 0, 1962 D. BERLIN 3,043,440

FOLDING RACK Filed April 4, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. DANIEL BERLIN ATTORNEYS July 10, 1962 D. BERLIN 3,0 3, 4

FOLDING RACK Filed April 4, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DANIEL. BERLIN ATTORNEYS July 10, 1 962 BER I 3,043,440

FOLDING RACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1960 m .N to O INVENTOR. DANIEL BERLIN ATTORNEY 3,943,449 Patented July 10, 1962 free.

3,043,44s FOLDING RAQK Daniel Berlin, 4424 Paul St, Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Apr. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 19,893 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-178) This application is a continuation-in-part application of application Serial No. 687,779, filed October 2, 1957, entitled Collapsible Garment Stand, now US. Patent No. 2,957,669.

This invention relates to hangers for clothes and particularly to a hanger that may be readily folded to a compact state.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved clothes hanger that is foldable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved foldable clothes hanger that is sturdy and reliable in unfolded condition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved hanger that can safely support a large quantity of clothes and that may be folded compactly for storage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved foldable clothes hanger that is economical in operation, easy to assemble, and sturdy and effective in use.

In accordance with this invention, a foldable hanger includes a base, a standard, and a rack secured to the standard. The standard is pivoted to the base by means of a hinge structure that permits convenient assembly, sturdy construction and effective operation. The hinge structure includes a latch that is hooked reliably when the support is unfolded and is readily unhooked when the support is to be folded.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention as well as the invention itself both as to its construction and mode of use may be best appreciated from the following description when read together with the accompanying drawing, in which,

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a foldable clothes support embodying this invention, with parts of the standard omitted;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the rack taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified clothes support in full length;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the rack hinge portion of the support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6 with the parts in a position for telescoping;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the support of FIG. 3 in folded condition;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged exploded view in perspective of the hinge structure of the support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view taken along line 10-40 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 are similar views of the latch of the support of FIG. 1 and showing stages of the unlatching operation; and

FIG. 14 is a detailed elevational view of the central portion of the latching bail used in the support of FIG. 1.

In the drawing corresponding parts are referenced by the same numerals.

The clothes support of this invention may be considered as having four principal, interrelated parts. These are a base 20, a standard 22 that is pivoted at one end to the base 20 by means of a hinge and latch structure as illustrated in FIG. 3.

24, and a rack 26 that is pivoted to the other end of the standard 22. The support is preferably constructed of metal, a suitable example of which is aluminum.

The rack 26 includes a tubular member 28, to one end of which is attached a bent plate 30. The plate 30 is cut away in a central part to provide projecting cars 32 (FIG. 4) that are pivoted to the upper end of a tubular standard member 34 by means of a pin 36. The central part 38 of the plate 30 between the ears 32 functions as a shoulder that rests against the standard member 34 to maintain the rack tube 28 in horizontal position. The rack tube 28 may be pivoted to the opposite side of the standard member 34 (arrow 40 of FIG. 3) and thereby folded out of the way. This folded condition is illustrated somewhat by the view of FIG. 8 Where rack tube 36' is folded out of sight behind the standard 22.

Indentations 42 in the upper surface of the rack tube and spaced therealong receive the wire hooks of clothes hangers (not shown) to retain them in suitable spaced condition. A wire framework 44 may be removably attached to the rack tube 28 by means of a plurality of depending U-shaped wire springs 46 that fit in suitable narrow slots 48 in said tube 28. The springs 46 extend through the tube 28 and are firmly retained therein to securely position the framework in horizontal condition. Thereby, alternative clothes rack arrangements are provided for hanging clothes on the support.

The support standard 22 includes tubular members 34 and 50, the first 34 being adapted to slidably telescope into the second 50 (FIG. 3). A slidable detent includes a cylindrical casing 52 that encloses a coil spring 54 and detent pin 56 that is urged by the spring 54 to project through an end of the casing 52 and through an opening in the wall of tube 34. The detent pin engages in a slot 58 (FIG. 7) in the upper edgeof tube 50 and, when positioned (FIG. 6), it prevents downward movement of upper tube 34 within lower tube 50. Thereby, the standard may be securely retained in extended conditions as shown in FIG. 3. The detent pin 56 may be removed from slot 58 by pulling tube 34 out of tube 50, and then rotating it relative to tube 50 (arrow 60, FIG. 5) to the position shown in FIG. 7. The detent pin '56 is cammed back to a retracted position by means of a flared portion 62 at the upper edge of the tube 50. Downward movement of tube 34 (arrow 64 of FIG. 7) causes detent pin 56 to be retracted and telescopes the two tubes 34 and 50 to the condition shown in FIG. 8.

The base 20 includes a tubular member 66 (FIG. 1) bent into a generally trapezoidal shape. Alternatively, other shapes such as a rectangular shape 68 may be used Near the ends of the member 66, annular ridges 70 (FIG. 9) are formed around the periphery thereof and projecting transversely therefrom. These ridges 76 assure retention of the member 66 within the hinge structure 24, which is now described.

The hinge structure 24 (FIG. 9) includes two clamping plates 72, 73 that are similarly formed with generally semi-circular channels 74, 76 which meet toform a T. The vertical leg 74 of the T channel is adapted to receive the standard tube 50, and the cross-arms 76 are adapted to receive the ends of the base member 66. The base member 66 is rotatable within the circular cross-sectioned channel arms 76. The latter arms 76 have grooves 78 transversely and internally formed therein and shaped to receive the ridges 70, thereby to prevent axial movement of the ends of the base 66 when the plates 72 and 73 are secured together by bolts or the like. The leg 74 of each plate 72, 73 has spaced sections 80 extending its length and of curvature less than that of the channel leg 74 generally. These sections 80 function as gripping surfaces, and the diagonally opposite surfaces 80 ensure firm clamping of the standard 50.

aoaaaao A latch plate 82 is bent to form a hook 84 at one end that opens downwardly. At the other end, a bent projection 86 is used as an anchor lip for the plate 82. The plate 82 is clamped between the standard 50 and the clamping plate 73 (FIG. 10) with the anchor lip 86 positioned in a groove 88 formed across the leg 74. At an intermediate location, the plate 82 is bent to form a horizontal stop surface 90 and a channel between that surface 90 and the hook 84. Guided through that channel is the central portion 92 of an M-shaped (FIG. 14) latching bail 94. The ends of the legs of the latching bail 94 are pivotally secured in apertures formed in the sides of the base member 66. The spaced bends 96 at the legs of the bail 94 have secured thereto the ends of a retaining bail 98. The retaining bail 98 is generally C-shaped with its ends crimped around the latching 94 at the bends 96, and it surrounds the standard 50.

In use, the base 66 rests on a floor with the standard 22 vertical and retained in that position by the latching bail 94. The bail 94 is so dimensioned with respect to the position of the latching hook 84 that the latching portion 92 tends to press upwardly into the hook 84 and seat firmly and resiliently therein. Thereby, a secure latching of the standard 50 is assured. To collapse the stand, the standard 50 is tilted back (arrow 100, FIG. 12) or the bail 94 pressed down and forwardly (arrow 102, FIG. 11) to bring the central latching portion 92 to the position shown in FIG. 12. The latching portion 92 is then directed to the completely unlatched position outside of the book 84 and the base 66 can be folded up (as shown in FIG. 8 for the base 68).

When the bail 9 4 is in the position shown in FIG. 12, as when unfolding the base 66, the latching portion 92 tends to spring through the channel formed between the stop 90 and hook 8 1- and seat into the hook 84. If the latching portion 92 should accidentally unseat from the hook (for example, due to tipping or moving of the standard 50) the stop 90 together with the retaining bail 98 tend to prevent collapsing of the standard 50. This is prevented because the central latching portion 92 is retained within the channel and will seat again in the hook when the standard 50 is tilted back. The retaining bail 98 is maintained in its proper position secured to the bail due to the positioning of that bail 98 at the bends 96 of the M-shaped bail 94. The retaining bail 98 tends also to keep the base in folded condition, as shown in FIG. 8.

The hinge and latch structure are effective for the intended functions, yet simple in construction and easy to assemble. The clothes support is, as a result, sturdy and reliable in use. The support is convenient for its intended purpose and may be readily folded compactly for storage or unfolded for use.

This invention is not intended to belimited by the illustration of a specific embodiment of this invention. Variations and modifications of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In a foldable clothes support, the combination of a standard, a clothes rack pivoted to the upper end of said standard, a base, and a hinge and latch structure pivotally securing said base and the lower end of said standard, said standard including a long member, said base including a long member bent in a plane and having cylindrical ends in spaced alignment, said hinge and latch structure including a latching plate with a hook portion formed at the free end thereof and two clamping plates having corresponding T channels formed therein, said latch plate including a bent intermediate L-shaped portion that forms a channel leading to said hook portion to guide said latching bail into said hook portion upon tilting of said standard whereby said hook portion precludes accidental unlatching of said hail, the leg of each of said T channels being shaped to cooperate together to receive and clamp said standard member and one of said T channel legs being adapted to clamp and anchor an end of said latching plate, the cross-arms of said T channels being generally semi-circular-in cross-section and shaped to receive and secure rotatably said base member ends, and a bail having ends secured to said base member and central portion adapted to engage and latch with the hook portion at the free end of said latch plate.

2. In a foldable clothes support, the combination of a standard, a clothes rack pivoted to the upper end of said standard, a base, and a hinge and latch structure pivotally securing said base and the lower end of said standard, said standard including a long member, said base including a long member bent in a plane and having cylindrical ends in spaced alignment, said hinge and latch structure including a latching plate with a hook portion formed at the free end thereof and two clamping plates having corresponding T channels formed therein, the

leg of each of said T channels being shaped to cooperate together to receive and clamp said standard member and one of said T channel legs being adapted to clamp and anchor an end of said latching plate, said one of said T channel legs including a groove extending transversely thereto, and an end of said latching plate including a lip projecting transversely thereto and adapted to be anchored in said groove, the cross-arms of said T channels being generally semi-circular in cross-section and shaped to receive and secure rotatably said base member ends, and a bail having ends secured to said base member and central portion adapted to engage and latch with the hook portion at the free end of said latch plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,677,518 Happy May 4, 1954 2,896,789 Sans July 28, 1959 2,913,200 'Paine Nov. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 538,103 Belgium May 31, 1955 

